Catalog

The Disintegration Loops II

William Basinski

2062 0202

Finally officially released, the next three volumes in Basinski's incredible Disintegration Loops series. Each volume is totally mesmerizing, in the realms of general organic drone and aesthetic decay. Basinski has become a cult hero of sorts for the quality of his works (previous releases on Raster & Three Poplars; forthcoming on Idea) and the release of II, III, & IV will solidify that forever. "The second Disintegration Loops consists of two long segments, both strikingly beautiful; the first one is a single muffled -- but radiant to my ears -- chord repeating over and over, a musical fragment that, more than evoking abandon or solitude, brings to my mind the effort of a woman giving birth to his creature: repetition and the ongoing pulverizing of sound resemble the extreme force of life desperately wanting to overcome. The remaining part is one of the best tracks by William, as it's based upon a loop seemingly taken from a 'calm' moment of a western soundtrack -- like someone watching an immense prairie in front of him; of course, the deterioration process and the constant shift of memories guarantee much more, as the two notes creating the constant, slow melody of the piece remain in your ears for weeks. Another testimony of how one can fill the pages of his own album of grey pictures without a trace of glue, only with a slight touch of soul opening." -- Massimo Ricci, touchingextremes.org